2006 in Japan

Incumbents

• Emperor: Akihito
• Prime Minister: Junichiro Koizumi to September 26 Shinzō Abe
• Chief Cabinet Secretary: Shinzō Abe to September 26 Yasuhisa Shiozaki
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Akira Machida to October 15 Nirō Shimada from October 16
• President of the House of Representatives: Yōhei Kōno
• President of the House of Councillors: Chikage Ōgi
• Diet sessions: 164th, 165th

Governors

• Aichi Prefecture: Masaaki Kanda
• Akita Prefecture: Sukeshiro Terata
• Aomori Prefecture: Shingo Mimura
• Chiba Prefecture: Akiko Dōmoto
• Ehime Prefecture: Moriyuki Kato
• Fukui Prefecture: Issei Nishikawa
• Fukuoka Prefecture: Wataru Asō
• Fukushima Prefecture:
• * until 28 September: Eisaku Satō
• * 28 September-12 November: Akira Kawate
• * starting 12 November: Yūhei Satō
• Gifu Prefecture: Hajime Furuta
• Gunma Prefecture: Hiroyuki Kodera
• Hiroshima Prefecture: Yūzan Fujita
• Hokkaido: Harumi Takahashi
• Hyogo Prefecture: Toshizō Ido
• Ibaraki Prefecture: Masaru Hashimoto
• Ishikawa Prefecture: Masanori Tanimoto
• Iwate Prefecture: Hiroya Masuda
• Kagawa Prefecture: Takeki Manabe
• Kagoshima Prefecture: Satoshi Mitazono
• Kanagawa Prefecture: Shigefumi Matsuzawa
• Kochi Prefecture: Daijiro Hashimoto
• Kumamoto Prefecture: Yoshiko Shiotani
• Kyoto Prefecture: Keiji Yamada
• Mie Prefecture: Akihiko Noro
• Miyagi Prefecture: Yoshihiro Murai
• Miyazaki Prefecture: Tadahiro Ando ; Kayoko Saka
• Nagano Prefecture: Yasuo Tanaka ; Jin Murai
• Nagasaki Prefecture: Genjirō Kaneko
• Nara Prefecture: Yoshiya Kakimoto
• Niigata Prefecture: Hirohiko Izumida
• Oita Prefecture: Katsusada Hirose
• Okayama Prefecture: Masahiro Ishii
• Okinawa Prefecture: Keiichi Inamine ; Hirokazu Nakaima
• Osaka Prefecture: Fusae Ōta
• Saga Prefecture: Yasushi Furukawa
• Saitama Prefecture: Kiyoshi Ueda
• Shiga Prefecture: Yoshitsugu Kunimatsu ; Yukiko Kada
• Shiname Prefecture: Nobuyoshi Sumita
• Shizuoka Prefecture: Yoshinobu Ishikawa
• Tochigi Prefecture: Tomikazu Fukuda
• Tokushima Prefecture: Kamon Iizumi
• Tokyo: Shintarō Ishihara
• Tottori Prefecture: Yoshihiro Katayama
• Toyama Prefecture: Takakazu Ishii
• Wakayama Prefecture: Yoshiki Kimura ; Yoshinobu Nisaka
• Yamagata Prefecture: Hiroshi Saitō
• Yamaguchi Prefecture: Sekinari Nii
• Yamanashi Prefecture: Takahiko Yamamoto

Events

January

• January 1 - The Stories of Ibis, a Japanese science-fiction light novel is published.
• January 16 - Tokyo prosecutors raid Livedoor for suspected violations of securities laws.
• January 18 - Following the Livedoor raid, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is overloaded with sell orders and is forced to stop trading.
• January 23 - Livedoor CEO Takafumi Horie and three other company officials are arrested and placed in detention.

February

• February 1 - Transit operators in the Kansai region introduce the PiTaPa contactless fare card system.
• February 6 - Construction Ministry officials cite Toyoko Inn for multiple violations of building codes and disability access laws.
• February 23 - Figure skater Shizuka Arakawa wins a gold medal in the Ladies' Singles at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

March

• March 3–5 - Asian round of the World Baseball Classic is held at the Tokyo Dome.
• March 4 - Softbank announces its intention to purchase the Japanese subsidiary of Vodafone.

April

• April 7 - Ichirō Ozawa is elected president of the Democratic Party of Japan.
• April 26 - Takahumi Horie is released from custody.
• April 26 - Hidetsugu Aneha is arrested for his role in the Structural Calculation Forgery Problem.

May

• May 1 - The new Corporations Act goes into effect, abolishing yugen kaisha and altering kabushiki kaisha.
• May 23 – Japanese foreign minister Taro Aso visits Qatar to meet with Chinese and South Korean diplomats.

June

• June - Minato Ward 2006 elevator accident, a 16-year-old student killed in Minato, Tokyo
• June 5 - Yoshiaki Murakami, manager of the Murakami Fund, is arrested for insider trading.
• June 15 - A cross-party organization of 135 Diet members led by Taku Yamasaki proposes a secular replacement for Yasukuni Shrine.

July

• July 14 - Bank of Japan abolishes the zero interest rate policy.
• July 20 - A memorandum from an Imperial Household Agency official is published in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun showing that Emperor Hirohito refused to visit Yasukuni Shrine after Class A war criminals were added to its rolls.

August

• August 9 - Beef imported from the United States goes on sale in Japan for the first time in months following a lengthy ban.
• August 14 - A blackout occurs throughout Tokyo, Chiba and Saitama during the morning rush hour after a barge-mounted crane disrupts a high-voltage line.
• August 15 - On the anniversary of the end of World War II, Koizumi makes his final visit to Yasukuni Shrine.
• August 16 - A fishing boat is fired upon after crossing into Russian-claimed waters off the east coast of Hokkaidō.

September

• September 22 - Junichiro Koizumi's term as president of the Liberal Democratic Party expires.

November

• November 7 - According to Fire and Disaster Management Agency official report, F3 class tornado hit in Saroma, eastern Hokkaido, nine persons were human fatalities and 23 persons were hurt.

December

• December 1 - A ceremony for the completion of nationwide digital terrestrial television coverage was held. All 47 prefectures in Japan are able to receive such broadcasts.
• December 2 - Nintendo's Wii is released in Japan.

Births

• September 6:
• * Prince Hisahito of Akishino
• * Kairi Jo, actor

Deaths

• January 3: Shiro Azuma, soldier
• April 29: Yoichi Numata, actor
• May 1: Kikuo Takano, poet and mathematician
• May 6: Shigeru Kayano, Ainu activist
• May 10: Raizo Matsuno, politician
• May 16: Takahiro Tamura, actor
• May 29: Masumi Okada, actor
• June 1: Shokichi Iyanaga, mathematician
• June 13: Hiroyuki Iwaki, conductor and percussionist
• June 17: Hiroaki Shukuzawa, rugby coach
• July 1: Ryutaro Hashimoto, prime minister
• July 7: Reizō Nomoto, voice actor
• August 6: Hirotaka Suzuoki, voice actor and actor
• August 9: Chinatsu Mori, shot putter
• September 13: Shokichi Natsui, judoka
• September 17: Kazuyuki Sogabe, voice actor
• September 25: Tetsurō Tamba, actor
• October 1: Yoshihiro Yonezawa, manga critic and author
• October 29: Reiko Mutō, voice actress
• November 10: Taira Hara, manga artist and tarento
• December 17: Kyōko Kishida, actress
• December 20: Yukio Aoshima, politician
• December 25: Hiroaki Hidaka

Statistics

• Wealthiest person in Japan: Masayoshi Son